Life on Mars Mashup

Photo credit: NASA Haughton-Mars Project/Pascal Lee 010808-0013.

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About This Episode

Ponder what life on Mars might be like in this StarTalk Radio Martian mashup. To start things off, Bill Nye, Andy Weir, Eugene Mirman, Maeve Higgins, and NASA planetary scientist Jim Green discuss Andy’s hit book The Martian: how he worked out some serious science problems and the creative licensing he took with the infamous dust storm. Following that, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, Mike Massimino, and Mary Roach, author of Packing for Mars, investigate how people would grow and eat food in a Martian colony and how to make use of animal waste to help with radiation exposure. Next, from StarTalk All-Stars, Mike Massimino takes over the hosting chair alongside Maeve Higgins and John Charles, chief scientist at NASA, to explore food and life support in space and how to get, or create, water for crew members on Mars. You’ll then hear from Playing with Science hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly as they sit down with Neil deGrasse Tyson to explore what Olympic sports would be like on Mars, including cycling, swimming, and volleyball. You’ll also hear Neil and Chuck talk baseball on Mars: how Martian gravity would impact a curveball, the distance of an average home run, and the size of an outfield. To wrap things up, Neil, Eugene Mirman, John Oliver, science journalist Andrew Chaikin, and Buzz Aldrin turn to the first settlers on Mars and their legacy, and Neil gives us an aspiring send-off through the lens of the cosmic perspective.

NOTE: All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: Life on Mars Mashup.